Tag Archives: Double Bastard – Bigger Longer Uncut

It’s been awhile since I posted a beer review. I don’t know what happened to the Vendome Beer Panel – they stopped doing them (or they stopped inviting me to participate). I guess that horrible task of sampling free beer is over.

Black Butte XXIX pours black with a ¼” light tan head that fades rapidly to a thick ring. The first whiff is spiced rum, then spiced rum, followed by more spiced rum with sweet chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and cherry.

The flavor is sweet rum, chocolate, coconut, vanilla, dark fruit, and cinnamon with cherry at the end. The cayenne is slightly noticeable in the aftertaste, giving just a bit of heat in the throat. The bourbon is very subdued, almost non-existent, but the rum is right in your face, along with strong notes of dark chocolate.

The mouth feel is thick and silky smooth with medium to low carbonation. The high alcohol content is completely absent in the flavor (too bad), but very noticeable in its effect. As it warms there is even more aroma of rum. The flavor is a bit sweeter with rum notes even more prevelant. The cinnamon is subtle, but makes an appearance (not so much when cold). The dark fruit (raisin, plum) fades a bit, and a little coffee emerges. The alcohol is still not apparent.

Black Butte XXIX is excellent! It is complex and very enjoyable. This is an impressive beer; good job, Deschutes!

I sampled XXIX on August 20, 2017 from a 22 oz. bomber that was bottled on June 12, 2017. The bottle cost $16.49 at Total Wine.

Double Bastard – Bigger, Longer, Uncut: Arrogant Brewing, Escondido, CA. 13% ABV.
First a very short history lesson – Arrogant Brewing split off from Stone Brewing in 2015. I believe Arrogant Brewing pushes the boundaries and makes the more “over the top” ales, including Double Bastard (an excellent Strong Ale). Today’s beer is Double Bastard Ale aged in Islay Scotch Whisky barrels. I will refer to it as “BLU” (Bigger, Longer, Uncut).

BLU looks like regular Double Bastard, but that’s where the similarity ends. It pours a deep amber color with a ½” beige head that fades after about a minute to a substantial ring. The aroma is smoky Scotch, sweet, tobacco – it smells like you’re walking into a tobacco shop.

It tastes sweet with notes of chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar and tobacco, followed by smoke/peat, Scotch Whisky, and smoky chocolate, with a lingering smoky/peaty essence in the aftertaste. As this beer warms, the aroma intensifies – close your eyes and you would think you’re sniffing a shot of Scotch. In the flavor, however, the smoke seems to fade, or is overtaken by sweetness, to wit, vanilla and chocolate (especially dark chocolate). The peat subsides and the sweet notes of chocolate and toffee take over. This seems counter-intuitive to me – I would think the peat/smoke would become more pronounced as the beer warms, but it’s just the opposite as the complexity of the underlying beer shines forth.

The body and mouth feel is thick and smooth. Carbonation is on the low side. As the beer warms (60°+), alcohol becomes noticeable late on the palate, but is not hot or unpleasant. In fact, I would opine that the alcohol is well hidden in the flavor (but not in it’s effect!).

Double Bastard – Bigger, Longer, Uncut is all about the Scotch. At first I was a little put off by it (the Scotch), but the more I drank it, the more I liked it. In my opinion, this is a beer that should not be consumed ice cold. Let this one warm up to cellar temperatures (55° – 60° F) to really appreciate the nuances and complexities. Double Bastard is a huge beer with huge flavor, and is able to stand up to the intensity of the Islay Scotch barrels.

I sampled BLU on August 27, 2017, from a 22 oz. bomber, given to me by my neighbor and good friend, Rob Lansley. It was bottled on October 14, 2016, so it had been aging for almost a year. I’m a little surprised that the Scotch flavor is still so pronounced after nearly a year in the bottle.

So there you have it. I highly recommend Black Butte XXIX. Anyone who appreciates a good imperial stout would enjoy this beer. I don’t drink much rum, but it really adds additional character and depth to this beer. I can also recommend Double Bastard – Bigger, Longer, Uncut, but with one admonition – you may not like it if you don’t like Scotch Whisky. As I stated, I don’t care much for Scotch, but after my initial disdain, I really enjoyed this big beer (thank you, Rob!). In fact, I got another bomber ($11.99) to share with . . . anyone interested? This is a great candidate for aging – maybe I’ll get one more bottle to age for a few years in my cellar.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get off your couch and go buy some good beer. Both are available at Total Wine right now, but are limited release and will be gone soon. Don’t miss out. (Caveat: fizzy yellow beer drinkers, don’t bother.)